-NDTV The Calcutta High Court today disposed off an appeal by the state government against the order of the single bench last Friday by ordering panchayat elections by July 15 in three phases with forces from other states and central forces if necessary. The court also asked the state to provide 400 observers. Earlier, the state had said they would provide only 256. The court also ordered that the state government, in consultation...

-The Hindu Kolkata: A day after the Calcutta High Court ruled in favour of the State Election Commission in a dispute over rural polls, West Bengal Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee said the government would take the issue to the Supreme Court if a Division Bench upheld the single-judge's order. ‘Verdict unrealistic' Calling the verdict "unrealistic," Mr. Mukherjee told journalists on Saturday it was impossible for any government to implement the order. The High Court...

-The Hindu Kolkata: In a setback to the Mamata Banerjee government, the Calcutta High Court on Friday directed that panchayat polls in 17 districts be held in three phases with the government fully compensating the shortfall in security forces to the satisfaction of the State Election Commission. Justice Biswanath Somadder rejected the government's arguments on all the contentious issues in its writ petition and directed that it inform the Commission of...

-The Indian Express As the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) zeroes in on appointments made during the tenure of the Trinamool Congress in the Railway Ministry to understand the process of top level appointments, political circles are abuzz about Mamata Banerjee's unusual silence over the case of bribery in Railways. Except for a statement by party spokesman Derek O'Brien on the day the news broke, the TMC has remained uncharacteristically oblivious of...

-The Indian Express Saradha group CMD Sudipta Sen and executive director Debjani Mukherjee were questioned together for the first time by police today. Sen broke down in front of the interrogators when Mukherjee blamed him for the company going bust, police sources said. Mukherjee, who has been "cooperating" with the police since she was arrested, is likely to become an approver. Officials earlier said that Mukherjee could become approver only after the police...